35
Unit of Assessment 34: Communication, Cultural and Media Studies, Library and
Information Management
162. The sub-panel recognises the rich diversity of research across the
Arts, Humanities and Social
Sciences in communication, cultural and media studies, library and information
management, and
welcomes all outputs arising from this research, in whatever genre or medium,
that
can be
demonstrated to meet the definition of research for the REF (as outlined
in ‘Guidance on
submissions’, Annex C). In setting out its remit, the sub-panel recognises that
the UOA descriptor
covers two broad fields of research which are often distinct both organisationally
and academically,
and welcomes submissions that reflect this. It also recognises that the activitie
s covered by its remit,
even within its two broad fields of coverage, are often rooted in quite distinct
research traditions or
infrastructures. It will assess research on its merits, with no penalty for research
which is plainly
within a distinct tradition within the sub-panel’s remit. It will nonethele
ss welcome research which
seeks to engage with questions and concerns, such as the ‘information society
’, heritage (both
cultural and museum aspects), networks or convergence, which may transcend
field boundaries.
163. The UOA includes research that addresses or deploys theory,
history, institutional, policy,
textual, critical and/or empirical analysis, or practice within communication,
culture, media,
journalism, film, television and screen studies. Within UK
higher education much, but not all, of this
work is likely to emanate from units or departments in communication studies,
cultura
l studies,
media studies, journalism, or film and screen/television studies. This work will
include research on
online and screen-based media (such as film, television, games and other digital
for
ms), print media,
computer-mediated communication, digital infrastructure and platform studies
focuse
d on data and
society, diverse information and communication technologies, cultural policy,
the creative industries
and popular culture, which will be variably titled and organised. The sub
-panel will assess research
as defined above which addresses (but is not confined to): policy for regulation
of culture and the
media and communication industries; the organisation, institutions, political
eco
nomy and practice of
cultural production; media and cultural texts, forms and practices; media and
cultural audiences,
consumption and reception; the role of changing technology, including emergent
digit
al technologies,
in media production, content manipulation, distribution, access and participation.
It is recognised that
this will include work which explores questions of power, identity and difference
in relation to media,
communication and cultural studies which may sit at the intersections of (among
others) gender and
sexuality studies, race and postcolonial studies, and disability studies.
164. The UOA also includes research concerned with the management
of information and
knowledge in all formats, namely librarianship and information science, archiv
es and records
management, and information systems. This concerns research on the generat
ion, organisation,
dissemination and publication, exploitation, protection, and evaluation of informat
ion and knowledge,
and the impacts of such activities. It may include, for example, research that
focuses on digital
humanities; digital participation; information behaviour and use; information
ethics; information
literacy; information media; information policy; information retrieval; informat
ion security; information
seeking; the information society; knowledge management systems; preservation
and conservation;
systems thinking; systems development; and the cultural, economic, ethical,
historica
l, philosophical,
and societal aspects of the disciplines and their associated professions.